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Hi Moses
Thats low on the ph, for me I try to keep above 7, for plants and most fish, I am guessing that you have some cycling going on. I'd give it a gentle boost up. Right now ph changes can happen fast until it 'settles down'. So dont make a big doesage to raise it.
Good luck and enjoy.

Hi Moses,
Sorry, I misread your post, its the opposites, high nitrates is very good, they are ready to feed a crop, the lettuce should respond once you get it to sprout. I think your seed was starting to sprout and then dried out, try it with the top layer of paper towel damp, not flooded, just damp. Chard is very good also, very hardy and a strong grower. You can put it in salads like lettuce, or cook it for boiled greens or put into stir fry. I do all 3 with it. I am glad your nitrites are down, major first step.

Try keeping the seed wet, if it doesnt germinate in several days get new seed, it could be that the seed is starting and then drying out, Keep the towels wet/moist. Not standing in water.
For your readings , your system hasnt cycled yet,not at all, its not going to affect the lettuce, so go with it. You could sprinkle some ammonia to jump start it, dont add any fish for a couple weeks. THEN only very hardy.

Well, better now then later. The property owner doesnt want a hoop house here.
So my plans are in stasis. Until I find another.
Meanwhile I am going to clear my present tanks, and just store them in place, a half dozen large aquaria, in use and another half dozen smaller in storage. The larger job is the garage/shop which is full of equipment, lumber and green wood. Its all going to be a serious moving job.
I bring all this up to underscore the importance of owning or having a good lease. The owner knew and accepted when I came that I had a lot of aquaria, and shop equipment. But the plans for a hoop house are not doable, they want a flower bed in that area.
Words to the wise, either own your work site, or have a good lease.
The one bright spot is that there are a lot of empty places around here, so my search begins now. And it will have a good lease specifically discussing aquaponics, and shop work.
Jake

You are making good progress Moses.
I would wet the lettuce seed before giving up on it. I am not an authority on rafts( or anything else) but at the Virgin Islands the rafts are right on the water.
What are your growing bed measurements ? Just curious. All of your plants need some moisture,
I would like to see your project when you can show it. I am sure many others here would like to also.

Yes, the T5's are the best Flo. grow lights, they are much larger in dia then any of the others. I have had good experience using them. They might be able to be ordered from a dealer. Even here I have gotten better prices buying them in a box, the size I got had ten lamps in a box. Good luck.
Jake

To further this on the pump and grow bed, Dr McMurtry suggests a 15 min pumping time per hour for the flooding stage, and then an hour to drain. This needs a careful choice on the pump, that is capable in 15 mins to give a 'flooding' to the bed, another reason why he is adamant on using sand for the growing bed. So if your goal is other then a McMurtry IAV bed then your choices are your choices, some will work better then others. You didnt mention the size of your goldfish whether they are little guys or adult near spawning size. So there is a lot of room for you in your system to tweak it as you want, your results can vary, but its all up to you, a lot of different configurations can work very well for you.
I have parts for a similar system for myself, inside, and almost at the same time acculating material for a flood and drain in a hoop house next to the house. FWIW, the inside one will have 2Xs the gallons in the grow bed, as the tank, and it will also have a 50-75 gallon sump/reservoir , the pump will have capacity to flood the grow bed sand in 15 mins, and then it drains. I will tweak the flooding time to what seems to work best, I expect every other hour. we'll see. The inside tank is 75 gallons, and it will have 15 koi, about 5-6 " to start. The hoop house will have Blue Gills. To start, maybe a 2nd system with Yellow Perch. Right now emphasis is on putting the inside system together. The hoop house will probably go together after Labor Day. So , we shall see, most of the inside parts, the main thing is to build the grow bed. It is taking 2nd place to another outside project, but it will come together.

That is why you have the pump on a timer. Dr McMurtry discusses this. He uses/suggests a 15 min flood cycle. He also stresses the use of sand in 'his' IAV system. All of his results and writings are on the use of sand, right down to the size of the sand.